Term 1, Week 5

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 5

Sunday 28th February, 2016

Thank you to Mrs Laidlaw for teaching in Room 4 on Thursday and Friday while Mrs Eastwood and I were at a conference. I can’t wait to put the students’ wonderful art up for display.

Important dates coming up:

*Wednesday 2^nd March – afternoon: ICT (computer) time in Room 4 with Mrs Flannery.

*Saturday 5^th March – Parish Family Mass at our Alexandra Church – starting with games at 5.30 pm, picnic at 6pm, and Mass at 7pm. Some Room 4 children will be presenting a small role play at this mass.

*Monday 14^th March – School Triathlon 12 noon – 2.30 pm.

*Monday 21^st March – Anniversary Day – School closed.

Publishing:

The published stories are still coming in by email and I am most impressed with the children’s commitment to this task. Thank you so much for your support with this – some are being done in class if keyboarding at home is not possible.

Frans Du Plessis

You will have learned from the school newsletter that Room 4’s new student Frans will be in Christchurch Hospital for quite some time after his recent diagnosis with leukaemia. On Wednesday last week we posted the first of our parcels from Room 4 – a class set of homemade cards. We hope Frans enjoys these, and we continue to keep Frans and his family and extended family in our prayers. If you have any practical ideas for how our class can support Frans in an ongoing way, please don’t hesitate to let me know. We can put Compassion into action every day.

Spelling:

This week we will be working on the short ‘e’ sound. It sounds like the ‘e’ in ‘beg’ or ‘pen’. There is a short activity attached to the hard copy of the class newsletter for the children to do for spelling homework this week.

Have a great week. 

Regards, Markelle Ward J

markelleward@stgerards.school.nz

Term 1, Week 4

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 4

Sunday 21st February, 2016

Thank you to those who attended the ‘Meet the teacher’ evening. It was great to get some good questions and feedback regarding the programmes in Room 4.

Important dates coming up:

*Monday 22^nd February – morning. ICT (computer) time in Room 4 with Mrs Flannery.

*Thursday 25^th and Friday 26^th February – Mrs Ward and Mrs Eastwood in Dunedin for DRS Conference. Mrs Laidlaw will be teaching in Room 4.

*Saturday 5^th March – Parish Family Mass at our Alexandra Church – starting with games at 5.30 pm, picnic at 6pm, and Mass at 7pm. Some Room 4 children will be presenting a small role play at this mass.

*Monday 14^th March – School Athletics (afternoon)

*Monday 21^st March – Anniversary Day – School closed.

Publishing:

Congratulations to those who have already typed up and emailed in their stories, or a part of their story. This is a great skill and will build keyboarding confidence very quickly. Please keep the stories coming in this week.

Milk:

There appears to be a little confusion over which students are getting milk each day. A reminder that only those whose names have been signed off (ie. whose forms have been returned to the office) can be given milk. If you wish for your child to have milk each day please return the form so they don’t miss out.

Spelling:

We have been working on the short ‘a’ sound. It sounds like the ‘a’ in ‘rat’ or ‘cat’ or saturated. There is a small homework spelling task to revise this on the hard copy of the newsletter.

Have a great week.

Regards, Markelle Ward J

markelleward@stgerards.school.nz

Term 1, Week 3

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 3

Sunday 14th February, 2016

Happy Valentines Day!

Thank you to those who attended and participated in our Opening School Mass this morning.  It was great to see so many families and extended family there.

Important dates coming up:

*Wednesday 17^th February – ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening beginning with a BYO tea at 5.30 pm.

*Thursday 18^th February – Swimming Sports (morning). Check School Newsletter for details.

*Thursday 18^th February, 1.30 pm – NZ Playhouse Performance.

*Friday Mass this week at 12 noon led by Room 4.

Homework Publishing:

A photocopy of your child’s ‘holiday recount’ writing will come home in their Homework clearfiles. This is for them to publish on the computer, and it can then be emailed in to me. If your child has some good keyboarding skills, then they can type up as much of their story as they like. If your child has limited keyboarding skills, then they can just type up 4-5 lines of their favourite bit of their story, and email that in. Publishing is an excellent skill, but 20-30 minutes of typing is more than enough until they are more confident.

If anyone does not have access to a computer, iPad or email, please let me know.

Swimming Sports – Thursday 18th February

·      The race programme will be in the office by Wednesday 17^th at 9 am. If you have any questions or concerns about the events your child is entering, please advise me as soon as possible so they can be ironed out before the programme is printed.

·      All students are to be at the pool by 9 am in their house colours. Please make sure that your child has two towels, water, and a big morning tea.

Timetable:

9 – 10 am: Championship & non-championship full length races.


10:15 – 10:30 am - break for morning tea.

10:15– 11 am - Junior school and ‘half length’ races. (These may start at 10 am depending on senior events).


11 am – 12 noon: Completion of championship and non-championship full-length races.

House relays.


Regards, Markelle Ward J

markelleward@stgerards.school.nz

Term 1, Week 2

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 2

Monday 8th February, 2016

A lovely day for the Waitangi Day picnic today. What a hot and humid start we have had to the term. It will be nice timing for swimming this week, so make sure the swimming gear is all organised.

Important dates coming up:

*Ash Wednesday – 10^th February: 11 am Mass to start the season of Lent.

*Swimming for Room 4 will be from Tuesday 9th – Thursday 11^th February from 1.45 pm – 2.50 pm. Check last week’s school newsletter again for full details.

*Thursday 11^th Feb, 7pm at Father Pat’s house – Meeting for those wishing to become altar servers or Children’s Liturgy leaders.

*Sunday 14^th February – Opening School Mass, 9 am.

*Thursday 18^th February – Swimming Sports (morning). Check School Newsletter for details.

*Thursday 18^th February, 1.30 pm – NZ Playhouse Performance.

*Thursday 17^th March - St. Patrick’s Day.

Homework:

Homework clearfiles will come home on Tuesday. Each student will have a class newsletter, maths sheet, reading book, Lent Calendar, and a Studyladder notice. Attached to the Studyladder notice is your child’s personal login. I encourage you to access this login and begin to use any of the wide range of resources, especially for maths. It is free, but we need to be using it consistently across the school to keep it.

Sacramental Programme:

Year 4 is the age/stage that we typically offer the Sacramental Programme to children within our school and parish. In Term 2 we begin with the sacrament of Reconciliation. Term 3 is Confirmation, and in Term 4 we have the sacrament of First Holy Communion. The programme is an important part of the childrens’ faith journey, and it requires that your child has been or is likely to be baptised. Each sacrament begins with a parent meeting with Father Pat, but if you have any questions in the meantime please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Learning in Room 4:

We are off to a great start with our learning in Room 4. Holiday writing, ‘Me’ posters, Class Prayer routines, and discussions about Waitangi Day and how we treat people of all cultures, are just some of the things we did last week. Mr Yeoman gave the children a tour of the school garden – a lot needs to happen to keep it healthy in the hot weather. We, too, need to keep up the water.  Well done with the sun hats!

Regards, Markelle Ward J

markelleward@stgerards.school.nz